October 31, 2022

Who won the week in Philly sports: J.T. Realmuto hits the home run of his life

By Shamus Clancy
PhillyVoice Staff

In the last two weeks alone, I've seen "the biggest home run in Phillies history" three times. There was Rhys Hoskins' instant-classic bat spike in Game 3 of the NLDS. There was Bryce Harper cementing himself as a Philadelphia legend with a go-ahead bomb in Game 5 of the NLCS. Then, this past Friday, came J.T. Realmuto's game-winning homer in the 10th inning against the Astros in Game 1 of the World Series.

There was some seriously stiff competition this week, but players and fans alike wait a lifetime to see a home run of this magnitude. Realmuto is my pick for "who won the week" in Philly sports, as he helped the Phillies steal a win and split the first two games of the World Series down in Houston.

Giving props to Jacob Tyler Realmuto...

Justttt enough 🏟️

The Phillies miraculously came back from being down 5-0 in Game 1 to take things to extra innings. Leading off the top of the 10th and working a full count, Realmuto shot the ball the other way off Houston pitcher Luis Garcia. Watching at home, it felt as if that ball hung in the air for an eternity. It was not a clear home run off the bat. The ball landed just out of the reach of a leaping Kyle Tucker and made it into the stands:

THOSE FIGHTINS! #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/tBnyeldpbU
— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2022

Phillies fans everywhere surely erupted in the aftermath, racing around their living rooms, crushing beers and living it up when no one on the planet expected this team to make it this far and grab a win against an Astros squad this good.

That ball isn't out in every ballpark in the sport, but the game is the game and Realmuto did just enough to give the Phils their first World Series win in 13 years.

It was a moment where I thought any Phillies team of the last 10 years wasn't sniffing a win, but this roster of bearded partiers has defied all logic with this improbable World Series run. There isn't a game they are truly out of. There is no quit. There is no satisfaction in limping along and just being happy that they're on this ride. They smell blood and have no regard for the BS stemming from national baseball scribes about how a team that won 87 games and finished third in their division doesn't deserve to be here.

Screw that noise. With a single swing, Realmuto put the Astros, those cheaters, and the entire baseball world on notice that this is going to be a series.

BCIB 🧤

Realmuto let everyone know he's still the best catcher in baseball this season. He's a finalist for a Gold Glove Award and put together a tremendous season at the plate for a backstop. He had an OPS of .820, 22 homers, 84 RBI and 21 steals. He's just the second catcher ever to have a 20-20 season, joining Hall of Famer Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez (via Stathead).

He's handled a pitching staff that's featured a revolving door at the back end of the rotation and he's helped steady what had been a historically rotten bullpen the last few years. Realmuto's been everything the Phillies hoped he'd be when they swung a trade with the Marlins for him before the 2019 season.

The Phillies have a bunch of big-name players on big-money contracts. As MLB teams get increasingly frugal and seem ambivalent about whether their organizations actually win baseball games, more concerned with revenue sharing, the Phils have hit a market inefficiency: get a bunch of really good players, pay them what they're worth and watch your franchise prosper.